Studies in the News is a very current compilation of items significant to the Legislature and Governor's Office. It is created weekly by the State Library's Research Bureau to supplement the public policy debate in California’s Capitol. To help share the latest information with state policymakers, these reading lists are now being made accessible through the State Library’s website. This week's list of current articles in various public policy areas is presented below.

Service to State Employees:

When available, the URL for the full text of each item is provided.

Items in the State Library collection can be checked out to state officials and staff.

Access to all materials listed will be provided by the State Information Reference Center, either by e-mail to cslsirc@library.ca.gov or by calling 654-0261.

["The Inland Empire, the state's fastest-growing region for more than a decade, has continued its breakneck conversion of agricultural and vacant land to urban uses, according to a new state study.... But the most unexpected trend was the widespread farming of baby carrots, organic onions, potatoes and parsnips in the high-desert Antelope Valley near Lancaster, state officials said." Los Angeles Times (June 15, 2004) B1.]

["Volunteers plan to sample and analyze seawater in the lab every Monday, then promptly post the results. Test results also will be entered in a database, to detect any trends.... But their larger goal, they add, is to draw attention to the plight of ocean pollution -- and ultimately inspire more aggressive protection.... The lab is the latest of about two dozen such facilities created and run by members of the Surfrider Foundation." San Jose Mercury News (June 23, 2004) 1.]

["Biotechnology companies quietly returned to the business of planting crops engineered to grow pharmaceutical products just 18 months after an errant crop nearly contaminated the food supply and put the brakes on the industry, according to [the] report.... Many of the details of the plans for growing these crops – such as where they will be planted, what is being spliced into them, and what commercial product they will be used for – have been shielded from public view because companies contend they include proprietary information." San Diego Union Tribune (June 2, 2004) 1.]

["The study, which reviewed existing research, concluded that perchlorate at levels substantially higher than those considered harmful by California appeared to pose no health risk. In healthy adults, exposure to perchlorate in water at 100 parts per billion should not cause any hormonal effects, the study found. The report did not offer any conclusions about how pregnant women or people with thyroid problems would be affected at such levels." Los Angeles Times (June 12, 2004) B5.]

["Milk sold in Southern California supermarkets contains a toxic ingredient of rocket fuel that exposes many children to amounts exceeding a federal health recommendation, according to a report.... 'Our findings are not a call for California mothers to stop drinking milk or stop giving it to their children,' said Bill Walker, vice president of Environmental Working Group. 'They do show that the state must set a drinking water standard that fully protects public health.'" Los Angeles Times (June 22,2004) B6.]

["Seven months after the devastating October firestorms, San Diego County's grand jury has announced it agrees with the observations of many North County residents and officials ---- that the county's emergency operations center did a poor job of disseminating information about the disaster to the public. The grand jury also determined that the federal Emergency Alert System was an inadequate tool to warn the public about catastrophes such as the wildfires, and urged county supervisors to look for new warning systems such as the 'reverse 9-1-1' system the board voted to buy in March." North County Times (May 26, 2004) 1.]

["The Fish and Wildlife Service finalized changes to two popular Endangered Species Act programs making it clear that Safe Harbor and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances are transferrable when property changes hands. FWS said it would only revoke such agreements as a last resort.... Safe Harbors and CCAAs are most useful for working landscapes such as farms, ranches and small timber operations. Both Safe Harbors and CCAAs have proven to be powerful tools to promote conservation and recovery of imperiled species." Greenwire (April 29, 2004) 1.]

["The U.S. Supreme Court jolted environmental groups by ruling unanimously that private citizens can't sue a federal agency for allegedly failing to enforce a law protecting potential wilderness areas from off-road vehicles.... More broadly, the court made it harder for private citizens and organizations to require federal land-management agencies, such as the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service, to follow priorities laid out in federal laws and agency land-use plans." San Francisco Chronicle (June 15, 2004) 1.]

["One of the most surprising environmental consequences of the North American Free Trade Agreement has been a big increase in pollution at Canadian, Mexican and U.S. border crossings, according to a new report by a three-nation environmental commission. A doubling in trade among the three nations, which reached $11 trillion last year, he said, has led to a huge jump in traffic and congestion -- and thus pollution -- at ports of entry." San Diego Union-Tribune (June 18, 2004) C1.]

["Under a plan proposed by the Green Watchdog Coalition, residents of California would pay small fees for certain goods and the money collected would support various environmental programs.... According to the California Legislative Analyst's Office, General Fund expenditures for resources and environmental protection programs are at their lowest point in relation to overall expenditures since 1998." Wildlines (June 21, 2004) 1.]

["A new groundbreaking report profiles how business leaders are supporting smart growth policies and projects, and puts forth five key smart growth business actions. This new report profiles 17 business groups that are profiting while revitalizing communities and improving livability across the nation." SGLI press release (April 26, 2004) 1.]

["A new and broader view of parks has recently been emerging. This new view goes well beyond the traditional value of parks as places of recreation and as visual assets to communities, and focuses on how policymakers, practitioners, and the public can begin to think about parks as valuable contributors to larger urban policy objectives: job opportunities, youth development, public health, and community building."]

["Dell and Hewlett-Packard said that they were moving to support more recycling and taking more of the financial burden for the recycling of used computers off consumers and local governments. The pledges by Dell and Hewlett-Packard were timed to the release Wednesday of an annual 'report card' of corporate environmental behavior by the Computer Takeback Campaign." New York Times (May 19, 2004) C3.]

["Having invested billions of dollars in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, the federal government has a major interest in protecting its investment and in ensuring that future assistance goes to utilities that are built and managed to meet key regulatory requirements."]

["The information presented here is intended to help readers understand the complicated issues and procedures associated with acquiring environmental water and to encourage them to pursue water transfers as a tool to help meet the state's important environmental needs."]

["The report provides the scientific, economic, and public health justifications for land conservation as a critical strategy for protecting America's drinking water sources and recharge lands.... The report also documents several best practices in drinking water source protection efforts from around the country. Local governments, water suppliers and agencies, and community drinking water advocates either looking for effective source water protection strategies, or engaged in the practice and looking for reliable justification, will benefit from the report." U.S. Newswire (May 27, 2004) 1.p]

["This report concludes that although the district has implemented many recommendations of our May 2002 report, it has not fully addressed all our concerns.... Although it included goals and objectives in its strategic plan, it did not include outcomes by which the district and public can measure the district's progress in meeting them."]

["A new mechanism is needed to coordinate water research currently fragmented among nearly 20 federal agencies, said the committee that wrote the report.... The committee noted that overall federal funding for water research has been stagnant in real terms for the past 30 years, and that the portion dedicated to research on water use and related social science topics has declined considerably. Decision-makers at all levels of government are going to have to make difficult choices in the coming decades about how to allot limited water supplies, and they need sound science to back them up." Science Daily (June 18, 2004) 1.]

["We are making recommendations to take actions to help mitigate the effects of funding transfers including improving the agencies' methods for estimating annual wildfire suppression costs and conducting formal assessments of how their budget and forecast models performed relative to actual costs."]

Aviation Security: Further Steps Needed to Strengthen the Security of Commercial Airport Perimeters and Access Controls. By the U.S. General Accounting Office. GAO-04-728. (The Office, Washington, DC) June 2004. 55 p.

["The number of older drivers will double over the next 30 ears... This implementation guide provides engineering, planning, education, and policy guidance to highway agencies that desire to better accomodate older driver's special needs."]

["Traffic crashes are a major cause of death and injury in the United States. In 2002, there were 42,815 fatalities and over 2.9 million injuries on the nation's highways. Crashes on rural roads account for over 60 percent of the deaths nationwide, or about 70 deaths each day. Further the rate of fatalities per vehicle mile traveled on rural roads was over twice the urban fatality rate."]

["South Bay transit planners cannot afford to build a BART extension to San Jose and should stop spending money on it, a grand jury has concluded. The report blames the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority for financial mismanagement of local sales tax money. An inexperienced, oversized and overly political board failed to keep a tight leash on planners, who may have misled voters, the jury suggested." Oakland Tribune (June 22, 2004) 1.]

["A rising tide of senior citizens could overwhelm Orange County transportation services by 2030, according to a report. By then, the county's population of those 65 years and older will increase by an estimated 70%." Los Angeles Times (June 8, 2004) B3.]